Written By: Annika Rasmussen
Rudolf Nureyev remains one of the most influential ballet dancers of all time, revolutionising the art form with his masterful talent and unique choreography. Nevertheless, it was arguably his fascinating life story that made him such a celebrity at the time, with the myriads of ways his life collided with history still interesting historians today. Specifically, his notorious defection from the Soviet Union to the West.
The youngest of four, Nureyev was born on March 17, 1938, to a Tartar family in the Soviet Republic of Bashkir (modern-day Republic of Bashkortostan within the Russian Federation). Despite his father’s objection, he was accepted into a prestigious ballet school in Leningrad and soon began dancing for the Kirov company. The company’s first foreign tour in 1961 took the twenty-three-year-old Nureyev to Paris. On the world stage, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were increasing as both powers had successfully sent a man to space (although the Soviets had succeeded first). Furthermore, diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba had been severed after Fidel Castro won the Cuban Revolution. This has led many to speculate the Soviet Union allowed the Kirov Ballet company to tour internationally as a showcase of Soviet artistic prowess and cultural superiority. Alternatively, others posited relations between the East and West had significantly lowered, and because of this, the Soviet Union allowed the ballet company more freedom of movement.
Nureyev, despite being one of the most skilled dancers in the company, was a controversial pick for the tour. While his skill was undeniable, suspicions of his loyalty to the state had begun before he left, largely due to the fact he had argued for years to implement Western-style dances and costumes in Soviet performances. For this reason, the KGB followed him closely in Paris. Nevertheless, Nureyev continually disobeyed curfew, frequently going out with a group from the Paris Opéra Ballet to see shows and visit the Louvre. Notably, he was not the only member of the Kirov company to explore the city, but Nureyev concerned the KGB the most. Likely due to his disobedience, one month into the tour, Nureyev was recalled to the Soviet Union. The Kirov company attempted to delay his departure as long as possible since they owed much of their success in Paris to his skill, but when two more directives called for Nureyev’s return, it was decided he would return to Moscow whilst the rest of the company continued to London without him.
At Le Bourget airport, Russian authorities informed Nureyev his mother was ill and he was to return home. Nureyev saw through this deception and, knowing he would likely face retribution in Russia, acted. He was able to inform his new French friends of his intention to seek asylum in France. They then informed the French police and advised them to be ready for Nureyev’s approach. In preparation, the French police reportedly stood closer to the dancer, so they were ready when Nureyev suddenly ran from his KGB handlers. After he ran, there was a short altercation as both sides fought over Nureyev, but the French police eventually got the upper hand and led him away, although not before the Russian cultural attaché slapped him.
The few reports published by the Russian media concerning Nureyev were condemnations of the defector, demonising him for associating with French homosexuals, while the state sentenced him to prison in absentia. Western media capitalised on Nureyev’s popularity as a major propaganda win. The Guardian quotes him as yelling, “I want to be free” in English, and the incident went down as a “leap to freedom” (although Nureyev himself did not appreciate this phrase). Interestingly, despite his fascination with Western culture, many of Nureyev’s biographers have claimed he had not intended to defect during the tour. He had an illustrious career ahead of him and close ties to friends and family back in Russia. Thus, his defection was seemingly the result of fear he would be prevented from dancing in the Soviet Union. This is an especially attractive explanation considering the sudden nature in which he had to make his decision. Some historians even claim Nureyev’s excitement to perform in London and subsequent panic when told to return to Moscow indicates his defection was unplanned, and if not pushed, he may have even returned to Leningrad with the rest of the company after the tour finished. However, it is also possible that he had unvoiced plans of staying in the West before his recall from Paris rushed any plans.
The KGB employed scapegoats to explain Nureyev’s defection, such as accusing the French police of a conspiracy to keep Nureyev from the Soviet Union. But, likely due to the public nature of his defection and Nureyev’s popularity, the KGB were limited in their efforts to regain the dancer. Undercover spies did throw sharp objects onto the stage during his first performance in Paris with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas, although this failed to end or deter Nureyev’s ballet career. Furthermore, most efforts by the KGB to lure him back to the Soviet Union only seemed to deter Nureyev more. Insincere letters from friends and family intending to make him feel homesick were obvious ploys, with one friend in East Germany even sending a second letter refuting his previous letter and encouraging Nureyev to stay in the West.
As one of the first to defect from the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Nureyev unintentionally became a symbol of struggle against the regime. The Berlin Wall would go up that same year, and Nureyev would not see his family again until after it came down in 1989 when he finally gained approval from Soviet authorities to return. After travelling for years on temporary documents, Nureyev eventually gained Austrian citizenship, although that was seemingly the only connection he had with the country, as he spent most of his time in France. For the remainder of Nureyev’s life, he performed in several countries, choreographed influential performances, and directed the Paris Opera Ballet. In 1993, he passed away due to complications with HIV and Aids and is buried in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris.
An influential figure in ballet nonetheless, his defection gave a new meaning to his initial performances in the West. Although he seemingly never desired to be a political figure, he was instead devoutly committed to his artform, performing until his untimely death. This period of Nureyev’s life is a testimony to the all-encompassing nature of the Cold War as political tensions, struggles, and messaging seeped unequivocally into art and culture.
Bibliography
Crompton, Sarah. “’You couldn’t take your eyes off him’: the triumph and tragedy of Rudolf Nureyev.” The Guardian. September 25, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/sep/25/rudolph-nureyev-ballet-triumph-tragedy
Montana, Katherine. “The Case Against Rudolf Nureyev: A Legal Case Study of the KGB’s Pursuits against Defectors.” St Andrews Law Journal 1:1 (2020): 56-62. https://doi.org/10.15664/stalj.v1i1.2347
Nelsson, Richard “Russian ballet star Rudolf Nureyev asks for asylum – archive 1961.” The Guardian. Compiled June 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/stage/from-the-archive-blog/2021/jun/16/rudolf-nureyev-asks-for-asylum-ballet-1961
The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation. “Biography.” Retrieved from https://nureyev.org/rudolf-nureyev-biography/
Woods, Gregory. “Rudolf Nureyev,” in Homintern, How Gay Culture Liberated the Modern World. Yale University Press, 2017.
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